Paying Attention
by Moon Prynces
Summary: Butch is always trying to play his little games with her but Buttercup doesn't really care all of a sudden. She obviously knows something he doesn't. (Future, high school setting.)


8-6-10

4:14pm

Summary–Butch is always trying to play his little games with her but Buttercup doesn't really care all of a sudden. She obviously knows something he doesn't. (Future, high school setting.)

**Disclaimer–I do not own The Powerpuff Girls, which belongs to its respective owner(s) and is only being used in a fan-made, fictional story.**

**READ ME:** Buttercup does sound very subdued but I guess my only explanation is...time changes people. And the age is 15.

**Also,** this is the first in a series. Next is "On Top" (Blossom/Brick) and the third and final one-shot was written in two versions because I couldn't make it work. The first (actual) is "Subtle" and the second attempt is "subtle".

**xoxo**

**Title–Paying Attention**

**By–Moon Prynces**

**xoxo**

Okay so the Rowdyruff Boys weren't causing trouble (as much) anymore. Rough n' tough evil villains they had been, but they were always still just little boys. And boys had to grow up sometime, so these boys (just like most others) needed incentive. Even if that incentive was just a kick in the butt by their own hormones.

Brick and Butch were obviously more resistant to change. They wanted to stay in the past where things were black and white, and easy. They could do whatever they wanted and the morals most people lived by didn't apply to them.

They liked to have fun, play games that hurt others without any remorse afterward. But after a while, and being on the receiving end of that kind of fun a few times, it started to wear down.

Still, they had all this energy (and power) so they had to find new ways to channel it.

Brick found himself getting addicted to video games (usually the kind with much blood, gore and villainous action). Boomer opted for sports. Basketball, soccer, volleyball, even trying out track and field and wrestling (which he was now banned from because he couldn't control his strength and ended up injuring his opponents). Even though he was the youngest Rowdyruff and sometimes considered much softer than his brothers, Boomer developed a competitive streak.

Then there was Butch. The green Rowdyruff boy had taken an interesting (not to mention completely unexpected) turn on his path of life.

He realized the boys' scary popularity as they started high school and found his calling.

Shameless flirting.

Well, those hormones weren't gonna go anywhere unless he found some way to release them.

In fact, since they weren't always in conflict with the Powerpuff Girls these days he'd turned stalking and bothering the crap out of Buttercup into an art.

Yup, he didn't think he'd ever get tired of annoying her to the point where she tried to start a physical fight (something her sisters caught on to and always coaxed her away from).

But he never saw the day when she would get tired of _him._

He wasn't boring!

Just lately...she had been really lax about everything – almost uncaring.

So he went out trying to find new ways to get a rise out of her.

**xoxo**

He was always getting into trouble and then bragging about it.

Buttercup watched on, bored, while sipping a juice box at her usual lunch table.

"Yeah right. No way you got out of that unscathed!" a classmate said around the group of boys, which included Butch.

"You're right," Butch grinned. Then he lifted the sleeve of his shirt to show a fresh bruise on his forearm from landing on it after the fall. "You should see the one on my knee," he boasted, though made no move to lift his pant leg. "But I still got away."

Unspoken was that he didn't use his powers during this event, something he knew would impress them further which was why he did it more often.

Another boy in the group laughed. "Yeah, but then I heard you got caught! Too bad. I could've used the answers to that test – it was impossible."

"But seriously that was some dedication. You came to school _on a Saturday_ and climbed that crappy fence," someone spoke up, shaking his head.

"All in a day's work," Butch said with a smirk.

"In the life of a troublemaker, yeah."

They all laughed and Butch just stood tall and proud at his 'badboy' tactics. He glanced up to see Buttercup's blank stare in their general direction. He stared right back, letting her know she was caught.

He expected her to flush and look away or at the very least frown in annoyance and glare. She had probably heard everything because he and the boys hadn't exactly been quiet.

But she did neither, the straw still poking out the corner of her mouth with this neutral expression.

Then Blossom sat down in the seat across from her sister and cut off his view of the green Powerpuff girl.

Butch frowned to himself as a few of the boys got up, already heading back to class.

In all his fifteen year old glory he stalked past the table Buttercup and Blossom sat at, giving her another opportunity to take a stab at him.

She didn't even glance up from the mediocre conversation she was engaged in.

He didn't look back on his way out of the cafeteria.

**xoxo**

"Hey, what is that?"

A simple question was all it took for him to grin, once again happy to be the center of attention.

Butch pulled out the device that had been poking out of his pocket. A few of his classmates that were seated around him came closer in interest.

"It's this cell phone Mojo tried to come up with," he announced proudly.

Though some of the girls cringed away after hearing the name, everyone was still waiting for an explanation.

Butch shrugged as if it was no big deal. "It was supposed to be able to read people's thoughts. He wanted to use it for...you know." And with that he smirked and made a sidelong glance obviously in Buttercup's direction, though she was looking out the window in fascination while waiting for the teacher to arrive already.

A girl in the group giggled. "So does it still work? What am I thinking right now?"

He looked up at her and then smirked again before pushing a few buttons and putting it to his ear. "Well, hmm... You're thinking..." He pretended to look shocked. "About how cute I am!" And then embarrassed. "Why I had no idea..."

Everyone around the small group laughed. The girl just smiled wider, not giving away anything.

Butch tossed it carelessly onto his desk. "Nah, it doesn't work anymore. Now it's just a regular cell phone. Sometimes it might act up and I can hear a few words floating around in random people's heads but it's rare."

The teacher finally walked in and everyone dispersed, heading to their seats.

"Hey Buttercup, any guess what I'm thinking right now?" he turned to call back to her, seeing as she sat a few seats behind.

"I'm not the one with the mind reading phone," she replied while taking out her notebook.

He grinned. "You don't need it, you already know what's floating around my head."

Buttercup rolled her eyes. "Yeah. Nothing. Class is starting so be quiet."

True, the teacher had just finished writing on the blackboard.

**xoxo**

Buttercup's unresponsive behavior was so uncharacteristic Butch was sure she was mocking him. And it was starting to annoy him.

Even after such small incidents she would normally be shouting at him to shut up, stop showing off and stop talking to her (not that he ever listened to her _suggestions_ anyway, but still).

So he went back to basics. The one thing she couldn't stand was the way stupid girls fell for his charm and flirtatious attitude.

He was still a Rowdyruff boy, she would shout. He was still nothing but trouble.

Not that any of the girls ever listened to Buttercup's advice. On more than one occasion she had even been called jealous (though never maliciously), leading her to deny it loudly before stomping off with, 'Fine, I don't care if he sets you on fire with his eye laser!' to which girls just giggled at the hidden meaning.

So he found her at lunch the next day and started chatting up the girls at a nearby table.

"Why, is that an empty seat you've saved for me?" he asked while pretending to casually walk by and notice.

At the other side of the room Boomer rolled his eyes at his brother's overdramatic display. Brick didn't look up from his video game, even as Blossom was scolding him for leaving her alone with cleanup duty the previous day.

"There's always a seat for you here Butch," a girl giggled as he took the seat before she finished.

"So what's on the agenda today? Shopping? Getting your nails done? Getting your _hair _done?" Butch grinned, his arms spread out on the table before him.

"Have you got any requests?" a blonde asked with a smile. "I was thinking about trying red for a bit." And she fingered her hair. "See if I can pull off that fiery redhead attitude."

Butch smirked, glancing at Buttercup who was eating lunch with Bubbles at the next table over. "In my experience, hair color doesn't always affect personality. In fact, I've met girls that have never had a red hair on their body and she was still pretty spunky."

He didn't notice the way that sentence sloped down to indicate one specific person, but the girls did. They knew his game – that he was trying to work Buttercup's nerves. It was usually funny to watch, not that they meant any harm to her but she just got so riled up for no reason. Some of the girls were even pretty good friends with the Powerpuff girls.

"Spunky? And what hair color did _she_ have?" one of them asked him with a wink.

Butch faltered a moment, realizing his mistake. He covered it up with a smile that made them all sigh in appreciation. He was just so good to look at.

Maybe he had been hoping they would forget about him giving an answer but they didn't.

A girl looked up in thought. "Hmm...if I remember correctly I'm pretty sure spunky goes with...raven haired girls!" she announced.

"What?" Butch asked blankly. "How do you figure that?"

She looked at Butch with what he assumed to be an evil smile. "Oh come on, everyone knows this. Redheads are fiery, blondes are bimbos," she said jokingly, causing the blonde friend to shout 'hey!' indignantly. "And raven hair is spunky. Right? She had black hair?"

Butch grumbled under his breath, "Evil."

A few of them giggled and also glanced at Buttercup.

At that moment she slowly turned her head after taking a bite of her sandwich. Butch recoiled in fear a bit. The girls watched in anticipation.

Then she took the last bite, got up and threw away the trash before leaving the room with Bubbles trailing after her happily.

The girls turned back to Butch apprehensively. It wasn't really the desired response and he was probably disappointed.

But he just grinned mysteriously, saying he'd see them in class before getting up and walking to his brothers.

As soon as his back was turned away from them he frowned deeply and his brows came together.

Stupid girls.

Though he wasn't sure if he was thinking about the group or just Buttercup. Maybe it was both.

**xoxo**

Okay, so what? So what if it had been days, maybe a week, since Buttercup fell into his usual traps. A week since she was tempted to throwing him into his own orbit around the sun. A week since he had seen that lovely scowl on her face that always made him feel so accomplished.

So what?

He didn't care.

Butch left the school without his usual exuberance, in fact looking quite down-trodden.

Boomer had cleanup duty that day and was still inside the classroom with whoever he was partnered with. Brick had been challenged by Blossom to a race around the city, and if she won he would face cleanup duty all by himself the next time it came around – it was the closest she could get him to admitting his wrong-doing.

So Butch was going to trudge all the way home by himself. Which he preferred anyway because of his crappy mood.

He looked up upon catching sight of the light green streak in the sky. Butch grinned before he was following her.

Buttercup stopped in mid-air after noticing her unwanted stalker. "Need something?" she asked, keeping her voice calm.

Butch grinned his usual cocky grin. "What's up Buttercup?" he asked, rhyming on purpose and just trying to waste her time.

She rolled her eyes. "We are, obviously." She spread her arms out in the air before turning to leave.

"Is something going on with you?" he asked suddenly, causing her to turn back at him.

She looked up thoughtfully. "Well the professor was working on this thing that's supposed to help with memory loss but accidentally set it in reverse and they tell me I fell in the way of it. Does that count as news?" she shrugged and folded her arms.

His jaw dropped. "So that's why–" He couldn't even finish the sentence in his shock.

Yes... Yes it all made sense! There was no way the normal Buttercup would act this way! There had to be a reason and there it was!

But then she started laughing at the look on his face. Laughing so much that he realized he had been duped. He turned pink in embarrassment.

"Don't worry Butch," she chuckled. "I won't tell anyone how gullible you are."

And with that she was gone.

**xoxo**

Butch hated her more than he did when they were enemies.

She thought he was some kind of idiot!

He was fed up with this whole thing. He just really wanted things to go back to the way they were before.

When she was still giving him attention and he lavished in it. When she was loud and rude and downright mean sometimes.

He stood, leaning back against the wall that next day, waiting for her. It was still a bit early but he knew her schedule. She would be walking around that very corner just about–

Butch's hands shot out and grabbed her upper arms. He quickly turned her so she was now backed against that same spot on the wall he had been moments before.

Buttercup watched him coolly after the momentary surprise.

"Butch," she addressed with a raised brow. She glanced around to find this particular hallway empty. "Can I help you?" she turned her attention back to him.

He shook her slightly in his frustration. "Wake up! What's wrong with you?" he yelled, completely losing it. "Are you trying to snub me or something? What did I do, huh? Huh?"

"What are you talking about?" Buttercup blinked up at him exaggeratedly.

He let go of her and stood up straight, as opposed to towering over her menacingly. He eyed her with a frown.

"You alright?" she asked in this light hearted voice that disgusted him. She even looked concerned!

Butch pulled at his hair. "Wh-why are you doing this!" He wrestled with some inner conflict before saying, "You– you don't pay any attention to me anymore!"

There was the hint of surprise that passed through her but he barely caught it. Then Buttercup smiled (forcing down the smirk that she wanted to give him) and asked, "Why would you want me to pay attention to you?"

"Argh..." Finally, he stopped his frantic movements and moved his hands to his sides. Butch stared at her directly without a smile or grin or smirk. No eyebrow twitches or flirty looks. "Because..."

And he paused so long that Buttercup was about to shrug and be on her way. But then he went on.

"I like you," he finished with pure determination on his face. "I like you...a lot."

Buttercup blinked, stunned for a moment at the intensity of his look and his words.

Then she regained her voice and said, "Oh. I like someone too." And she breezed past him, taking a few slow steps down the hall.

"What? Who?" he demanded, turning around to watch her walk away like the confession meant _nothing_. "Why didn't you just say that sooner? Why didn't you just tell him already and get it over with so I wouldn't be standing here like an idiot!" He was trying to cover up his hurt with anger.

Buttercup stopped walking and looked at him over her shoulder with a smirk. "Well maybe I would. If he would stop trying to show off and being so cocky all the time. If I could get a word in, then maybe I would."

Butch's flickering anger was blown out with those words.

Did she mean...?

She took a step. "If you ever flirt with my friends again I'm going to kill you." Her voice had finally reacquired that dangerous tone she usually used on him. And then she announced, "We're going to be late for homeroom."

Butch shook his head as he jogged up to her side.

He grinned to himself when he felt her hand slip hesitantly into his, but kept his big mouth shut.

Okay, so maybe he didn't want things to go _exactly_ back to the way they had been before.

Change wasn't always bad, right?

**xoxo**

"Hey! So I heard what happened..." Brick left the sentence unfinished.

She smirked at the group sitting at the lunch table. "Yup."

"So who confessed?" Bubbles questioned, blinking up at her sister who stood beside the table.

"He did," Buttercup announced.

"Damnit!" Brick cursed so loudly he brought attention to their table.

Butch was just walking over. "What happened?"

"You're weak!" Brick immediately shouted.

"Oh nothing. Hey, wanna head outside for lunch?" Buttercup asked him.

The green Rowdyruff boy grinned. "Yeah. I'm gonna get a drink, you want anything?"

"Nah, I'll see you out there."

And with one last weird look to his brother, Butch was gone.

Brick was already counting bills. Then he abruptly shoved them in Buttercup's face while Blossom laughed at him.

"Never make bets with Buttercup," Blossom said.

Bubbles nodded. "She could get Boomer to give up first place."

Boomer did not look amused at this but didn't deny anything.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I have a date." And Buttercup was gone.

Their table was quiet for a moment.

"But I guess it was good you told her about Butch's crush," Bubbles said, addressing the red Rowdyruff. "That was nice of you."

Boomer scoffed. "He only did it for the money."

**xo end xo**

**Done.**

I hope you read the brief note after the disclaimer in the beginning. But if you still didn't notice they're meant to be around fifteen years old.

Yeah it's OOC and kinda weird but I'm a weird person. Who knows what I was thinking.

I've been looking at a lot of fanart on deviantart and there are so many talented people! Their visual pictures have been sending me into overdrive with inspiration to write one-shots for Powerpuff Girls fanfiction.

Just to be clear, this is a one-shot. No more chapters will come. If I write something for the other two couples (Blossom/Brick or Bubbles/Boomer) then it would be in a completely different story.

This is kind of amazing that I finished this in one day. And that I wrote a fic yesterday and posted it. And the day before. See? I'm running with this inspired streak.

Hopefully you enjoyed.

And that end scene? Brick and Buttercup's bet was that he didn't think she could get Butch to confess his feelings. She got it done in a week!

So tell me what you think. Bad? Good? Too OOC? Cute enough? Not cute enough?

Watch out, I think I might be writing another one-shot for Powerpuff Girls soon.

8-6-10

7:17pm

I seriously just spent half an hour trying to figure out a title. What's wrong with me these past few days!

7:40pm


End file.
